Review: Music To Polish Your Rifle To - Cousin
Album: Music To Polish Your Rifle To
Band: Cousin
Released: 23 March 2015
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This is part two of a series I’ve decided to do covering bands playing this year’s ArcTanGent festival that have either recently released, or will soon be releasing records that I’ve taken a shine to.
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This review runs the risk of becoming my shortest ever. Not because Music To Polish Your Rifle To is bad. Quite the opposite. If it was bad I wouldn’t be reviewing it. I’m just not sure how to get across how much I really, really like it without sounding too gushy about it.
Alright… let’s walk this tight rope.
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Brighton, UK based Cousin are a band that, like most bands whose records I review, don’t sit neatly within the confines of one genre. Their pallet of sound draws primarily from garage/slacker rock, yet it sometimes gets an almost alt-country western flavor. It flirts with math rock-esque meter changes, all with an effervescent top-note of post-hardcore showing up more than just occasionally, and even, dare I say, a few spritzes of twangy, surfy pop fizzing up here and there. I swear I’m not a wine reviewer on the side.
There is a lot going on, but all of these elements blend themselves easily into an overall sound that is as familiar as it is uniquely different.
Probably one of the best endorsements I can give a record is that, every once in a while, I come across one that I can actually describe as “fun”. Music To Polish You Rifle To is one of these rare instances. Not since Dorina’s Nuet have I had the sudden realization that a song on a record (in this case, “Which Schnitzel?”) was making me physically smile.
This record is bright, smartly written, and well produced from front to back. If, for argument’s sake, I had to complain about some aspect of it, I’d say that by the time “Legitimate Concerns” finishes up the track list, I’m still nowhere near done wanting to hear more.
There are worse problems to have.
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Music To Polish Your Rifle To is available for download through Cousin’s Bandcamp for a scant £4 ($6.19 US). If you favor more tangible things, vinyl are available for only £10 ($15.52 US).
And as I mentioned, they are playing this year’s ArcTanGent. So if you’re lucky enough to be in attendance, be sure to put their set on your itinerary.
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